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Some of the events portrayed in this film seem to be based on the studies of the French surrealist and author Antonin Artaud ; the protagonist visits a tribe of isolated Mexican Indians and participates in their sacred ritual involving local hallucinogens for the purpose of investigating the common religious experience. Much of the setting of this part of the film also appears to be based on Artaud's description of the natural, although seemingly man-made landscape of the Indians; in the movie, this was represented by huge stone Mushrooms . The film, released in 1980 , was directed by Ken Russell , after Arthur Penn resigned in a dispute with Chayefsky. Starring William Hurt (in his screen debut), Blair Brown , Charles Haid and Bob Balaban , it is Russell's most serious, and arguably his best, film. It was also the film debut of Drew Barrymore . As in the novel, the film concerns a university scientist named Dr. Edward Jessup (Hurt) obsessed with discovering the origin and meaning of life through direct observation. He undergoes a series of bizarre transformations induced by his Sensory-deprivation experiments. Each time the scientist transforms, he Genetically Regresses to an Evolution arily earlier form of life. At one stage the scientist becomes a wild, Neanderthal -like Humanoid , and later a sort of giant Amoeba . Ultimately the doctor Devolves into a swirling Primordial Mass , only to be rescued by his wife and restored to his Humanity . Classical composer John Corigliano was Oscar -nominated for the score. ''Altered States'' is also the title of the American edition of Ken Russell's autobiography (ISBN 0553078313). SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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